$164B: Amount of federal funds that flowed into Ohio in 2022, excluding COVID-related funding.
$128B: Amount Ohioans & Ohio businesses paid to the federal government that year.
$37B: Net gain for the state, the 7th-highest in the nation. As the Trump administration maneuvers to cut or disrupt federal funding to state programs and services — including childcare, transportation, infrastructure repairs, worker training, housing, food security, health care, and much more — it’s worth noting that our state gets back a lot more than we contribute in federal revenue.
43.8%: Share of K-12 education funding provided by the state of Ohio in FY 1997, when the state Supreme Court ruled our school funding formula unconstitutional.
39.3%: Estimated state share of K-12 funding in FY 2025. How is it possible that, even after phasing in two-thirds of the Fair School Funding Plan (FSFP), the state is still shortchanging our public schools? It’s complicated, but in short: By ignoring the past few years of inflation and different students’ educational needs, the state is low-balling the cost of education while also using skyrocketing property valuations to shift costs onto localities. For the FSFP to really work, legislators have to use up-to-date cost estimates and weight those estimates depending on the educational needs of each districts’ students.
Not 1: Number of companies who, according to Gov. DeWine, have said, “We can’t come to Ohio because your taxes are too high” — one reason he gave for not proposing an income-tax cut in his Executive Budget proposal this week. The governor did not go so far as raising taxes on the wealthiest or cutting unproductive tax breaks, and there’s not a lot to cheer for overall, though the budget has some potential to do some good for some everyday Ohioans. DeWine’s office hasn’t released the details yet, so we responded to the broad strokes.
Zero: Amount of interest we have in revisiting the racist comments from then-candidates Trump and Vance about immigrants in Springfield. But we can’t pass up a chance to see our own Hannah Halbert talking about organized labor and taxing the rich, which is what she does in this report from More Perfect Union. The whole thing is worth watching, but if you want to skip to Hannah’s parts, they are here and here.
PMO History: Policy Matters Ohio’s earliest work exposed the harms of privatization. Our first report, Selective Celling, cautioned against further privatization of public prisons because they not only failed to achieve the cost savings their proponents promised, but they demonstrated serious quality concerns that endangered both people who were incarcerated and staff. Other privatization issues we have covered include turnpikes and even economic development with the creation of JobsOhio. Today we are working to expose the harms of nearly-universal school vouchers that use public dollars to pay tuition at unaccountable private schools.
Watchlist
Ohio’s 136th General Assembly is in session and we’re keeping tabs on the good, bad, and ugly legislation our elected representatives in Columbus are working on. Here are three to watch. For our full list, visit our website. Please call or email your state legislators and tell them to support, oppose, or amend these bills.
HB 2 would create a private-public partnership program in which the cost of childcare is split between an employee, employer, and the state. This policy is not an equitable use of our state dollars — only those lucky enough to work at a participating employer may reap the benefits.
SB 3 / HB 30 would further collapse Ohio’s income tax structure, allowing the wealthiest to contribute an even smaller share of their income and requiring either drastic cuts in services or significant increases in other taxes to make up the difference. In either case, the consequences would harm low-income Ohioans, and do little or nothing for the non-wealthy.
SB 56 would significantly change our cannabis taxes and laws passed under Issue 2 in 2023. This bill would increase taxes, eliminate funding for host communities and social justice programs, and put the majority of cannabis tax revenue into policing and jail construction. Put simply, this bill overturns the will of the voters, robs local communities, and doubles down on failed War on Drugs policies.
Action items
Call or email your state representative to advocate for your priorities in the state budget. Not sure what to tell them? Check our budget platform!
Watch the More Perfect Unionreport on life in Springfield, Ohio, featuring our own Hannah Halbert.
Share this link with friends & allies you think should subscribe to Saturday Stats!
Say hello on Reddit, where we’re trying out a new way of engaging with activists, organizers, and advocates from all over the state, and beyond!
Lame duck is an opportunity for legislators to act on data centers (and more)